End-to-end PM workflow - from data analysis to pragmatic Linear tickets. Analyzes user behavior, identifies opportunities, creates specs, and audits for simplicity.
End-to-end PM workflow - from data analysis to pragmatic Linear tickets. Analyzes user behavior, identifies opportunities, creates specs, and audits for simplicity.
PM Analyst Skill
The pragmatic product manager's workflow - from data to shipping.
When to Use
Use this skill when you need to:
Answer product questions with data ("How did users react to our 1:1 messages?")
Identify the #1 product opportunity from analysis
Create a Linear ticket with complete requirements
Audit that ticket to ship 80% of value at 20% of complexity
The PM Analyst Philosophy
Core Principles
Data-driven, not opinion-driven
Start with real user behavior
Measure what matters
Let data reveal opportunities
Impact > Effort
Identify the 80/20 solution
Ship small, learn fast
Avoid premature optimization
Ship to learn
Perfect is the enemy of shipped
Prefer MVPs over big designs
Measure, then iterate
Lean startup thinking
Smallest change that tests hypothesis
Gradual rollouts
Decision gates based on data
The Workflow
Step 1: Analyze (Data → Insights)
Use skills:
funnel-analysis - For activation/retention questions ("show me the funnel")
sql-reader + product-analytics - For general product questions
therapist-data-scientist - For therapeutic metrics
Question format:
"Show me the funnel" → use funnel-analysis
"How did users react to our 1:1 messages?" → use sql-reader
"What % of users are power users?" → use funnel-analysis
Output: 1-2 paragraph justification of top opportunity
Example:
"Meta-Commentary (🌟) is the #1 opportunity. It's already our highest-performing feature (85.9% loved), but we're only celebrating ~5-10% of positive moments due to a 6-hour cooldown. Reducing to 1-hour cooldown is HIGH IMPACT (2-3x more of what users love) and LOW EFFORT (change one SQL condition). This is our product differentiation—'coach watching over your shoulder' in real-time."
Step 3: Spec the Feature (Opportunity → Requirements)
Use skill: feature-spec-writer
Template: Use "Quick Spec for Linear" format
Requirements:
## Problem
{1-2 sentences: What user pain are we solving?}
## Proposed Solution (MVP)
{1-2 sentences: What's the SMALLEST change that delivers value?}
## Success Metrics- {Metric 1}: {Current} → {Target}
- {Metric 2}: {Current} → {Target}
## Implementation
{3-5 bullet points: What needs to change?}
## Non-Goals
{What are we explicitly NOT doing in v1?}
Output: Feature spec markdown
Step 4: Create Linear Ticket
Use skill: linear-manager
Format:
export LINEAR_API_KEY={key_from_arsenal/.env}
# Get team ID
.claude/skills/linear-manager/scripts/get_teams.sh
# Create ticket
.claude/skills/linear-manager/scripts/create_issue.sh \
--title "{Concise title with key metrics/changes}" \
--team-id "{team-uuid}" \
--priority "{high/medium/low}" \
--description "{Feature spec from Step 3}"
Title format: "{Action}: {Key change} ({Metric})"
✅ Good: "Reduce PR cooldown from 6h to 1h (2-3x increase)"
❌ Bad: "Improve positive reinforcement"
Priority guide:
High: Affects many users, high impact, low risk
Medium: Moderate impact or effort
Low: Nice-to-have, low impact
Output: Linear ticket URL (CODEL-XXX)
Step 5: AUDIT THE TICKET 🔍
This is where PMs fail. They create elaborate tickets without asking:
Is this the simplest version?
What can we cut and still deliver 80% of value?
Are we solving real problems or theoretical ones?
Audit Framework
Read the ticket and ask:
1. Scope Creep Check
How many phases/sprints?
Is Phase 1 independently valuable?
Can we ship Phase 1 and stop there?
If >1 sprint:
→ Challenge: "Why can't we ship Phase 1 alone?"
2. Premature Optimization Check
Are we building infrastructure for hypothetical problems?
Are we solving edge cases before validating core value?
Do we have user evidence this complexity is needed?
Red flags:
"Variety tracking for power users" (before increasing volume)